AMERICAN HISTORY XXX: The American Cherry

The most powerful tool for controlling behavior is the fear of guilt and shame. Want to build a society where people would rather die than be shamed? Look at Japan where suicide as an alternative to shame, is a cultural feature.

We are not at that point in America. It's not a cultural component of Protestantism. Instead it is around sexual behavior that in our culture guilt and shame have their most powerful behavior-warping resonance. Just look at the political martyrs Bill and Monica. Republican strategists' publicly crucified a couple that had rather unspectacular extra-marital 'sex'. Those strategists' only (more sordid) motivation was to create public outcry intended to harm the Democrats' 2000 presidential bid.

Since that tactic worked so well it has focused my attention on who, what, when, where, how and why Americans can be socially (and hence politically) victimized by sexual threat. Combatting the perjorative implication of sex has become one of my personal battles and victory will be won for all Americans when sex has become positively reframed. Nobody should be able to threaten another persons social standing and our country's political health through such irrelevant standards as race, gender and yes, sexual behavior.

In my new series American History XXX, I'm going to be bringing you coverage of America's sexual culture pro and con. To begin the series I give you Alternet's interview with the author of a new study and book regarding some young Americans first sexual experiences, Not That Innocent:

"Gynne Watkins: What makes virginity such a powerful political tool?

Laura M. Carpenter: Culturally, we have a 'preserve the innocent' ideology that you see in the 'innocent unborn children' arguments of pro-lifers. You see it in 'women and children first,' as if they're somehow more valuable than everyone else. Protecting women, protecting innocents."